Avacta expects to license Affimer technology in 2017

Avacta expects to license Affimer technology in 2017, and it says this year is very optimistic for its shareholders.

The company is holding its Annual General Meeting on Friday in which it will announce the financial results for half a year and will give an update for its business and trading position.

Avacta has said that it expects to make a licensing deals for Affimer technology in 2017. It said that progress in the past year give reasonable hope that deals will be made, even though it takes time for evaluations to conclude.

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Dr Alastair Smith, Avacta Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is pleasing that this is now translating into a custom Affimer order book and paid-for commercial evaluations that could ultimately lead to licensing deals.”

Smith also commented on Avacta’s in-house therapeutic development programme. He said it also shows positive results from the first in vivo studies.“These are huge steps forward that we believe de-risks the platform considerably. Our collaborations with partners such as Moderna, Glythera and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre provide additional opportunities to develop therapeutic applications of the Affimer technology.”

He concluded that the company expects the upcoming news will increase shareholder value this year.

“We start 2017 with great enthusiasm,” Smith said.

Avacta’s principal focus is on its Affimer technology which is an alternative to antibodies that has wide application in a multi-billion life sciences market for diagnostics, therapeutics and as general research tools. Avacta’s strategy is to build a profitable business unit licensing Affimer technology into third parties’ diagnostic and research product development pipelines, whilst generating valuable therapeutic assets both in-house and with partners.